The economic and social prosperity of countries depends on the state of science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Yet, women and girls continue to be underrepresented in STEM
studies and careers, although there is wide variation among countries and across STEM fields. Beyond
the wage gap that comes with women being underrepresented in STEM jobs, the gender gap in STEM is
an inefficient allocation of labor and talent, and a missed opportunity for economies.
This report explores the participation of women and girls relative to men and boys in STEM-related
education and employment through a global, comprehensive review of the evidence. The report focuses
on both the drivers and the solutions related to the participation of women and girls in STEM.
IDENTIFYING GENDER GAPS IN STEM EDUCATION AND CAREERS
Globally, girls and boys enroll and complete primary school at about the same rates. Gender gaps in
attendance and completion, to the disadvantage of girls, are concentrated mainly in some low-income
countries, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa. In secondary education, in Sub-Saharan Africa, the lowersecondary completion rate is 46 percent among boys compared with 41 percent among girls. On the
other hand, in Latin America, girls are 5 percentage points more likely than boys to complete lowersecondary school.
In STEM learning, girls often score equal to or higher than boys in science and mathematics (figure ES.
1). Gaps between boys and girls in the last four decades have closed as a result of both improvements in
mean scores of girls and a decline in the scores of boys, especially at the upper end of the distribution.
The evidence on Sub-Saharan Africa, though, differs from global averages: boys score significantly
higher in mathematics in 14 of the 19 economies.
